Kindergarten Summer Reading Activities: Fun and Games

Summer is the perfect time to play games, whether it is kicking or throwing a ball, or doing a few puzzles. Playing games is also an excellent opportunity for learning. Here are five reading and learning activities that explore sports, games, and puzzles.

1. Read Hurry Up, Hippo!

Hippo is playing baseball. He needs to hurry up!

• Download Hurry Up, Hippo!

Discuss the book: What does Hippo put on his feet? What does Hippo put on his head? What happens when Hippo gets a hit?

2. Watch The Tortoise and the Hare

Watch the video The Tortoise and the Hare to see a classic story about a footrace.

Discuss the video: Who is running the race? What happened when the Hare fell asleep?

You can extend the fun by acting out the story with family members, stuffed animals, or action figures. You could also create your own video to show the famous race.

3. Write about a sport

Think about a sport you have played or would like to play. Draw a picture of yourself playing that sport. Use words related to the sport to write or say a sentence about your picture. Use these sentence frames:

I play _____.

I get _____, _____, and _____.

You can extend the activity by labeling your picture with details from your sentences.

More to read!

For more reading about races, download Did Liz Win?

4. Learn rules of baseball

• Search online with an adult or in nonfiction books to find the rules of baseball.
• Write down or draw one rule you learned.
• Write or dictate to complete this sentence: A rule of baseball is _____.

You can extend the activity by writing or drawing a few more rules and compile them into a book.

5. Design a sign

Make a sign for Hippo’s baseball game!

• Think about the story Hurry Up, Hippo! Imagine you are going to Hippo’s baseball game. Use poster board and markers to create a sign that you can hold up to tell Hippo to hurry up.
• Look back through the story to look for clues about the team’s colors.
• Include words, pictures, or both on your sign.

You can extend the activity by having your child listen to Hurry Up, Hippo! again and hold up their sign when they hear the words “Hurry up, Hippo!”

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Find more language arts activities for kindergarten. 

This blog, originally published in 2020, has been updated for 2025.